It is known to treat medical instruments of the endoscopic type, which get dirty during use, in a suitable washing chamber in a washing machine, by means of complete washing both of the external surfaces and of the inside surfaces and channels. There are flexible tubes inside the washing chamber to connect with the inside channels of the endoscopic instrument which, by means of a watertight connector, are put in connection with devices to deliver the washing liquid associated with the washing machine. The endoscopic instrument is treated externally, on the other hand, by immersion in a container, for example an auxiliary washing pipe, in the same washing chamber. The washing liquid, by means of a sleeve mounted on the auxiliary piping, is delivered inside, in order to reach all the external surface of the insertion pipe. Moreover, since the insertion pipe is usually very long, in order to be easily disposed in the basket and loaded in the washing chamber, it has to be wound in a spiral and keep the spiral shape in the washing chamber. To do this, said washing pipe is shaped as a spiral.
A washing pipe or device of the type in question, with relative container or support basket, is described in the European patent application EP-A-1.949.868 (EP'868). In particular, in the attached FIG. 1 (state of the art) the container of EP'868 is shown, indicated by the reference number 100, associated with a pair of spiral washing pipes 120, 122 inside each of which a relative endoscope to be washed is inserted. It is common practice to provide that these containers support a pair of washing pipes, so as to increase productivity, positioned angularly offset by 180° with respect to each other. The container 100 of EP'868 is formed by an upper frame 112 and by a base frame 114. The base frame 114 provides sliding rollers 118, for insertion into the washing machine, for example in the direction indicated by the arrow G. The hydraulic connection sleeves 121, 123 of the spiral washing pipes 120, 122 are supported by means of rings 117 positioned by means of brackets 16.
In this way, during the insertion of the container 100 into the washing machine, on the front side of the container facing toward the operator, the hydraulic connection sleeve 123 of one of the two spiral washing pipes is presented to the operator, while on the opposite side, therefore on the rear side and facing toward the inside of the washing machine, there is the hydraulic connection sleeve 121 of the other spiral washing pipe.
However, this disposition of the two sleeves 121, 123 does not promote easy operation by the operator, who, if he/she is not very tall, or if the washing machine is close to a wall and therefore with a reduced working space, has difficulty in reaching the rear sleeve 121 for the hydraulic connection.
A loading container for a washing machine is known from the document DE-A-3710349. A cleaning apparatus for oblong objects is also known from document U.S. Pat. No. 4,763,678.
Purpose of the present invention is to achieve a loading container to position and support objects to be washed, or washing devices inside which objects to be washed are disposed, which is ergonomic for the operator to use.
The Applicant has devised, tested and embodied the present invention to overcome the shortcomings of the state of the art and to obtain these and other purposes and advantages.